For China, a country with plenty of environmental laws but far too
little enforcement, the news was a minor revelation. Two chemical-factory officials convicted of releasing carbolic acid into a river  tainting a water source for 200,000 residents of coastal Jiangsu province  were sentenced on Aug. 14 to prison terms of six and 11 years. In the past, the act might have resulted in little more than a fine. The state-run Xinhua news service noted that it was the first time
defendants who "caused environmental pollution were jailed on charges
of spreading poison."

But as developments elsewhere in China this week made clear, it is too soon to
declare a new era in environmental enforcement. On Aug. 17, hundreds of
residents in northwestern Shaanxi province stormed a smelting plant
blamed for sickening more than 600 children. The local
government was supposed to have relocated people living around the Dongling
Lead and Zinc Smelting Co. plant by this year, but so far only 156 of
581 families have been moved, Xinhua reported. State media say the mayor of Baoji city vowed on Aug. 17
that the plant would be closed and not reopened until it is proven
safe, but residents told the South China Morning Post that the
plant was continuing to emit pollution even after the official's
declaration. (See pictures of Beijing's attempt to clean up its air.)

The scenes of protest in Shaanxi mirror what happened three weeks ago
in the central province of Hunan, where up to 1,000 villagers gathered
on July 30 to protest the Changsha Xianghe chemical plant. More than
500 people in the area had been sickened, and two residents died of
cadmium poisoning, which residents blamed on the factory, according to
Xinhua. They had complained about the plant for years, and it, too, had been ordered to stop work this spring. But it was not until residents took
to the streets that local authorities acted. "It's very easy to
understand why these people protest. They need to defend their
own interests," says Lin Guanming, a professor in the school of
Environmental Sciences and Engineering at Peking University. "When
things involve people's interests, health, and their descendants'
health, it's not surprising they stand up to defend it."

Environmental demonstrations are not new to China. In 2005, an
estimated 50,000 pollution-related protests occurred across the
country. But this recent streak of protests stands out, as the country is clearly tiring of
the ecological burden of its rapid industrial growth. "In recent years, we've seen a drastic
increase in environmental protests," says Wang Canfa, professor at
the China University of Political Science and Law. "It means that the
environmental toll of China's rapid economic development over the
years is gradually coming up to the surface." Last fall a survey by the
Pew Global Attitudes Project found that some 80% of Chinese felt that
protecting the environment should be a priority. (See pictures of China's infrastructure boom.)

The government has declared some progress in enforcement. In addition
to the Jiangsu convictions, prosecutors in central Hunan province are
pursuing 78 officials for neglecting their environmental
responsibilities. Last month for the first time, an environmental group
successfully filed a lawsuit against the government, when the
All-China Environmental Federation sued a land-resources bureau in
southwestern Guizhou province for approving a factory
beside a scenic lake. And thanks in part to stricter pollution
controls set up for last year's Summer Olympics, Beijing has enjoyed
some of its best air quality in a decade.

For every step the government makes in improving regulations, however, it's faced with a case in which enforcement has failed dramatically. Slowing economic growth gives local officials a stronger incentive to flout environmental rules if it means protecting jobs and industry. In Shaanxi, for instance, the Dongling Lead and Zinc Smelting Co. plant contributed one-sixth of the GDP for Fengxiang county, making it hard for a local official to shutter it amid a downturn.

But as the recent protests and prosecutions indicate, more officials
may be forced into upholding environmental laws they'd otherwise
ignore. Chinese citizens are ready for an environmental revolution.
And as the recent protests have shown, if they can't get satisfaction
in the courts, they're willing to pursue it in the streets.